The Evil Unknown
by Jessica Capasso
Summary: Tom Riddle is the good guy? But then who is the evil Lord Voldemort? Read and find out!
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the other characters in the story.

AN: This is my first attempt at a fan fiction story. Please tell me what you think. I hope to have the next chapter up in the next day or two.

The Evil Unknown: Prologue

"He has really done it this time" thought Tom Riddle to himself. To think that he would want to hurt the Potters; hurt anyone really, especially a baby. This is ridiculous. Those poor people were dead and there was nothing he could do to stop it. He really had to go into hiding now. The public was screaming for his hide. How was he supposed to stop the dark wizard when no one but he and his followers knew who it was. The public had done a well enough job villifying him and convincing the world that he was the evil one that no one would believe him or his followers. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The black robes and mask covered the tall wizard completely as he strode up the walk to the Potter's home. 'those fools' he thought to himself. 'to trust their protection into the hands of their enemies and think nothing else of it. Oh yes. he had played his part well. No one ever even suspected and that fool riddle was getting all the blame. What could be better'

"Reducto!" He yelled as the front door flew off it's hinges.

"Lily! Take Harry and go! James yelled.

The evil wizard laughed maniacally. 'Like they could ever get away. They sealed their own fate in the wards they had created'  
"Avada Kedavra!" He hissed. James fell to the floor as he noticed Lily and young Harry dissapear into the next room. He followed them slowly. He didn't particularly want to kill Lily. He had always liked her, but she was in his way and he HAD to kill the child. He just HAD to! He asked her nicely to step aside and when she refused he just shrugged and killed her anyway. He turned to kill the child and as soon as he cast the curse he noticed a shimmering shield surround the boy. He ducked just in time as his own killing curse rebounded and blew the house to rubble. 'I have to get out of here. I can't let anyone find me like this'. He crawled out of the rubble and disaparated. He needed a new plan. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Albus Dumbledore appeared on the quiet street of Privet Drive. Everyone had long since gone to bed. He strode up to number 4 and began to watch the skies before a soft meow made him look down. As the cat morphed into a woman he sighed. 'Of course she would be here. That woman is so infuriating sometimes' She looked shocked as he told her what happened. "But how did he survive!?"

"My dear woman, if i knew I would surely tell you" He heaved another heavy sigh. When she protested his placement into this home he thought quickly and came up with an story about sacrifice and blood wards. He needed to stay with blood relatives of his mother and this was the only home for him. 'yes this surely is the only home for him. These people despised magic and could be counted on to be so abusive of the child that he would be ripe for manipulation once he reached hogwarts. I have to ensure he does not fight against me.'

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The headline of the daily prophet the following day read:

POTTER'S KILLED! BABY SURVIVES KILLING CURSE! IS THE DARK LORD REALLY GONE?

Tom couldn't contain his glee. The baby survived! He could mourn for the parents later. At least the innocent child hadn't been hurt. He could only imagine the home he would end up in and hoped the child would be able to survive it without too much trauma. He would have to find a way to rescue the baby. What had the papers called him? Harry? Yes he would find him and care for him. No one else would suspect that his home was less than proper so no one else would see. But how could he reach him? He couldn't be seen anywhere lest he be destroyed or worse, kissed by the dementors. He would have to think long and hard of a way to fix this.


	2. Chapter 1: Life Goes on

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter nor any of the characters that you have heard of

AN: Here is chapter 1 and I hope you all enjoy it. I should be able to update another chapter at least every few days or even every day. Next Chapter: the Hogwarts express and the sorting. Drop me a review and let me know what you think so far.

Chapter 1: Life Goes on

Harry Potter sat in his cupboard trying not to cry, as he usually did on days when he was home. On good days he would be sent to the babysitter across the street. She wasn't exactly kind to him but she didn't hit him like his "family" did. He was allowed a break from his chores today because his uncle had broken his arm and cracked three of his ribs this morning, but at least he got one day off from the neverending chores. He fell asleep while wishing his life was different.

"Get up Freak!" His Aunt Petunia banged on his door in the morning, "We're all hungry."

'Yeah well so am I not that I'm ever allowed to eat' thought Harry bitterly as he dragged himself out of bed to go cook the abnormally large breakfast that his whale of an uncle and pig of a cousin required. "Yes Aunt Petunia" he sighed wondering if today he might be able to sneak a little breakfast from the trash. What appeared to be a small four year old emerged from the cupboard underneath the stairs. Harry hated his size. He looked so much younger than his seven years and felt so much older. He just wished that somehow he could be taken away from here someday.

In a small dark and well hidden cottage where Tom Riddle was hiding, a visitor strode up the walk.

"Severus, I'm so glad you're here. I know you have trouble getting away from that bastard of a headmaster. Do you have any news?" Tom Riddle asked.

"Unfortunately no. He is remarkable tight lipped about where he stashed the Potter brat" the younger man said with a sneer.

"Come now Severus. I know you hated his father, but that doesn't mean the child is anything like him. Besides. I know you. You wouldn't wish for any child the type of home that he has surely been put in by high and mighty Albus Dumbledore." Riddle admonished his friend.

Severus looked abashed. "You're right Tom. He probably doesn't even remember his father. It will be hard for me to like him though."

"Well Severus. If all goes according to plan he will be living here with me soon enough so you better at least be prepared to be kind and civil to him. If the prophecy is true he's the only one that can save our world and we can't let him fall into the wrong hands. Keep trying to find out where he has been sent and then we can see about getting him out of there. I prefer to do it before he enters Hogwarts and has his head filled with the same lies that the rest of the world has. I would imagine that he has been sent to the muggle world so that only Albus has access to him. That seems like something he would do."

"I will keep trying but I think Albus is getting suspicious. Have you seen the latest papers?"

"You know full well that I am in complete seclusion here. Even Lucius hasn't been to see me for weeks, though I imagine that little hellion of his is keeping him pretty busy" Tom chuckled remembering Lucius' descriptions of his son Draco's mischeif.

"The attacks are getting worse and happening more often. The name of Lord Voldemort is more feared than ever and in fact has been forbidden to even be spoken." Severus looked at his feet as he relayed this sad information. "I hate to see you reduced to this Tom. Why don't you just leave the country. You wouldn't have to hide and you could just live a quiet normal life like you like."

"I can't do that. If I leave then who will save the boy? No one but you and my closest friends even know who 'Lord Voldemort' really is and you need my help to fight against him. We need more people to help us and we all know that I'm the best person for at least that job. You are not a people person at all and Lucius doesn't relate so well to the 'common masses' and the rest of my friends while I love them dearly, are not the brightest wand in the bunch." Both men gave a knowing snicker at that.

"You are the strongest wizard I've ever known. If anyone can save the world you can. I don't understand why you would bother trying though. The way they vilify you and make you out to be so horrible. That doesn't make you bitter?"

"Ah but Severus, then I would be what they try to make of me. We have to rise above pettiness. Most people only believe what they are told. It is the ones starting the lies that are my enemies. Not only mine but the rest of the world as well."

Four Years Later:

Harry Potter was woken up with the dawn by obsenities from his family and orders to make breakfast just like every other day of his miserable life. He assumed that he wasn't cooking and cleaning when he was a little baby but he couldn't be positive. He wouldn't put it past his horrible relatives. After they had finished eating breakfast Uncle Vernon headed to work and Dudley headed to his friends house and Aunt Petunia propped herself in front of the telly while Harry was cleaning. First though he went through the trash looking for any scraps of food that escaped into the trash. He found a half eaten pancake with coffee grounds covering it but he didn't care. Just as he started stuffing it in his mouth the doorbell rang.

"Get in your cupboard! I don't want anyone to see what a worthless freak lives here!" His aunt hissed as she ran to the door. She opened the door to see the oddest looking man. He was very tall and thin with white hair and a white beard both reaching down to his waist. He was wearing what looked like a cross between a dress and a trenchcoat that was a weird violet color and a tall pointy hat on his head. Petunia couldn't catch her breath at the sight of him. 'What if one of the neighbors sees' she though in a panic. She rushed him inside the house and locked the door behind him then looked out the windows to make sure that no one noticed him. "I assume you've come to take him away now have you?" she said with a smirk.

"That's right" the old man said with a twinkle in his eye. "If you could just fetch him for me and we'll be off. We have some shopping to do before we catch the train in a few hours."

"Boy! Come out now. This man has come to take you away from here"

Harry slowly climbed out of his cupboard. 'so they're finally sending me to the orphanage. Oh well. It can't be worse than here' He walked up to the man with his head down hoping that the man wouldn't grab his arm as hard as his uncle when they left.

"Hello there Harry. My name is Albus Dumbledore and I'll be your headmaster at school this year. You'll be going to a special school for..." He was cut off by Petunia screeching "Not in this house! There will be no mention of that awful freakish place in this house! Just leave!"

"Very well Harry. We'll talk more on the way. Let's be off" He said happy that his plan was coming together perfectly. As they were walking Albus told Harry all about the wizarding world and the evil wizard named Tom Riddle also known as Lord Voldemort that killed his parents and tried to kill him when he was a baby and how that wizard had also been looking for Harry for years to finish what he started. Albus couldn't help but think that he scared the boy and was happy for that. If the boy was frightened of Tom Riddle then he would never consider joining Riddle and his band of friends that were so busy plotting his downfall. He had the boy right where he wanted him.

"Harry will be starting Hogwarts this year" Tom remarked to his friends. "Dumbledore has no doubt already told him all of the stories about me. It will be more difficult than ever to secure his help"

"What can we do Tom?" asked Lucius hoping his friend had a plan.

"Severus do you think you can bribe the hat?"

"The sorting hat is unhappy at having such a headmaster but is unable to go against his express wishes. As long as Dumbledore hasn't specifically told the hat what house to put Mr. Potter in the hat should be open to suggestion. I'm assuming that you wish for him to be in my house?"

Tom nodded. "It will make things much easier. And do try to befriend him as much as possible. Be understanding and know that he has most likely been abused at home all these years"

"I will do my best. Of course you know better than most that I'm not very good with people. Children in particular"

"If it will help I will encourage my son to befriend Mr. Potter as well" Lucius added.

"That would be very helpful. In fact I think many of you have children starting school this year. It would be best if Harry had as many friends as possible. He could even spend holidays at your homes and get to know me more. I think that is the best plan. Make sure you don't tell him about me in advance though. He would surely go to Dumbledore after all of the thoughts the old man has put in his head and could make things very difficult for us."

Every head in the room nodded their understanding and they all turned to leave to have a conversation with their children.

In the Malfoy home, more of a castle really, Lucius sat with his son explaining the importance of a friendship with Harry Potter. "He will hopefully be in Slytherin with you, but even if he is in another house, even if it is Gryffindor, I need you to strike up a friendship with him. I need you to become his best friend and look out for him. Dumbledore will surely be trying to manipulate him. You can't tell him the truth of course. At least not until he meets Uncle Tom for himself and accepts that he is being lied to. Just look out for him as best you can."

"Of course Father. I am actually rather anxious to meet him myself."

Severus Snape slipped quietly into the Headmaster's office knowing that he was most likely retrieving the boy himself and therefore would not be returning for at least an hour. He found the sorting hat laying in the corner ready for the night's ceremony. He picked it up and placed it on his head. "Ah, Severus Snape, I didn't think I would be seeing you again. What can I do for you?" The hat spoke softly in his ear.

"Harry Potter will be starting school today. The headmaster is trying to manipulate him. I need to help him. I understand that you can't go against the headmaster's direct wishes but if he hasn't directed you otherwise I need you to put Mr. Potter in Slytherin so that I may keep an eye on him."

"The headmaster in fact has not given me any orders on Mr. Potter's placement. Perhaps he believes that since both of his parents were in Gryffindor there is little chance that young Potter will not be. I would be happy to place him in Slytherin for you provided the headmaster does not give me that order at any point between now and the ceremony"

Severus muttered his thanks and set the hat back on the stool and slipped out of the office without being seen by anyone.


	3. Chapter 2: Hogwarts

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters and am making no money off of this book.

Chapter 2: Hogwarts

As the headmaster and Harry approached platform 9 ¾ Dumbledore was taking the opportunity to tell Harry to make sure he makes the right kind of friends. "You must be wary Harry. Not all of the students at the school are good. Many of them side with Tom Riddle and would take any opportunity to deliver you into his hands. Be careful of Slytherins in particular. More of them are on his side than not." At Harry's audible gulp he added, "I daresay you will end up in Gryffindor though like your parents so you need not worry too much. As a rule Slytherin and Gryffindor don't mingle"

Harry nodded as Dumbledore showed him how to get onto the platform. "Ah there are the Weasely's. A wonderful family. Their sons will be able to teach you who the right sort of friends are" the older wizard explained to the child. Harry was beginning to feel a bit stifled. 'It's just like the Dursley's' he thought. 'I may be allowed to have friends this time but this man is picking them out for me. I'll just have to be careful not to be caught with the friends I pick' Harry thought disgruntled. Luckily he had a lot of pratice hiding his real feelings with his family so to all outward appearances he looked grateful for the help.

After the introductions with the Weasleys, Harry went to get on the train with them choosing a compartment with the youngest, Ron as they were both first years. The train ride went fairly amicably, though Harry didn't particularly like the rude, tempermental, lazy attitude of the other boy. Then the Slytherins found them. A regal looking blonde walked into the compartment with two other boys who appeared at first glance to be something akin to shadows for their clear leader. They two shadows looked nervous.

"Hello you must be Harry Potter. I heard you were on the train and just wanted to introduce myself. I'm Draco Malfoy and this is Vincent Crabbe and Greg Goyle" The blonde said as he held out his hand. Harry thought a moment. This boy seemed a little stuck up but he could see that it was mostly false bravado to cover his nerves. As he stuck out his hand to greet the boy, Ron jumped in front of him and shoved Draco down. "We don't need you here Malfoy" Ron practically spit the name out. As Drao and his friends left the compartment with plenty of glares for the redhead, Harry smiled apologetically and waved while his "friend" wasn't looking.

"Should've known they'd try to get to you" Ron grumbled as he took his seat. "Harry, those were Slytherins Draco's father is a major supporter of you-know-who, but they haven't been able to catch him at it yet. Be careful around them."

"I thought we didn't know what house we were going to be in until after we are sorted?" Harry enquired.

"Well we don't for sure, but most people have a good idea. People usually go to the same place as their families, but sometimes they go somewhere else. Take me for example, My whole family is Gryffindor. I think I have a great great Uncle that was a Ravenclaw but that's the only one that wasn't Gryffindor. My mum told me that your parents were both Gryffindor so you'll probably be Gryffindor also" Harry nodded his thanks for the explanation as the announcement came that they were nearing the school and should change into their school clothes.

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Dumbledore arrived back at the castle shortly after seeing Harry on the train for a staff meeting. "How did it go Albus?" A stern faced woman asked him as he arrived.

"All went according to plan professor McGonagal. He was ever so grateful for my retrieving him from the Dursely's listened with rapt attention and abject fear to the story of Tom Riddle, and took to the Weasleys easily. We just have to keep an eye on him and make sure he keeps a good distance from the Slytherins. That should be easy with him in Gryffindor."

Severus wondered at that whether the old man gave the hat the order to place him in that house or if he was just doing as he usually did and pretending he knew everything before it happened. "Surely you can't be positive of that Headmaster. The hat has been known to surprise us at times" Severus said trying to feel out the situation.

"Too true, Severus, too true. I seriously doubt the hat would consider putting the child of two such noble Gryffindors into Slytherin however. That is almost unheard of. All of the houses are wary of Slytherin though, Gryffindor would just be easiest since they are downright hostile with the snakes"

Severus made sure to school his features so that they wouldn't betray his true feelings of his headmaster's views of his little snakes and smiled sweetly. "I do my best to keep them in line but I only get them after eleven years of their parents brainwashing so there is little I can do about their loyalties."

"I know you do your best my boy. No one can fault you for that." Dumbledore smiled at the cold man. "Well it is almost time for the students to arrive. Everyone to your places" He clapped excitedly.

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The children piled off the train in the town proclaiming itself to be Hogsmeade by the signs all over town. The muggle-born children along with young Harry looked around in excitement at the clearly magical village. There were murmurs going up from them "Where is the school?" They watched as the older children got into carriages as a large man called out. "First years over here" As they were all assembled in front of him his eyes dropped to Harry. He let out a huge grin. Hi there Harry! I'm Rubeus Hagrid, but you can call me Hagrid." The murmurs from the other students brought Hagrid back to the present. "Right then. No more than four to a boat. Hurry along all of ye"

Hagrid had a boat all to himself at the front of the procession. Harry and Ron got a boat together along with a girl name Hermione proclaiming herself to be a muggle born and another boy named Neville who according to him was almost a squib. Harry wondered what a squib was but decided to wait till later and ask someone he really liked once he knew who that someone was.

They all lined up for the sorting as a stern faced witch who introduced herself as Professor McGonagal called their names one by one to try on the sorting hat. First though the sorting hat sang a song talking about all the houses. Gryffindor was considered brave, Ravenclaw was considered smart, Hufflepuff loyal, and Slytherin ambitous. Harry had just decided that it didn't really matter to him which house he went to as long as he was able to make friends there. He didn't think he really wanted to go to Gryffindor though. He didn't like the gryffindor family he met so far, though Fred and George Weasely, the twins hadn't seemed so bad.

The muggle born Hermione was sorted into Ravenclaw, the almost squib Neville was sorted into Hufflepuff. Draco Malfoy went to Slytherin just like Ron predicted and then finally it was Harry's turn. He put the hat on his head and the hat called out almost immediately "Slytherin!" The entire hall went silent. There was no applause for him from the room except for the Slytherin table. Harry tried to ignore that and stood with his head high and walked toward the only people who accepted him after the hat's decision and was happy for it. He had enough of people pretending to be his friend for some other reason. Usually in his life the reason was to lure him close enough for Dudley's gang to attack him. He felt oddly at ease though. Like Slytherin was where he was supposed to be even though the rest of the school didn't seem to think so.

He took the opportunity at the table to apologize to Draco for Ron on the train and told him Dumbledore was trying to make him be friends with the prat. Draco brushed off his apology and said he should have expected that. Harry was confused by that, but he supposed it was because of what Dumbledore and Ron said about how no one trusts the Slytherins. Harry didn't see why. They seemed like perfectly nice people to him, and after the way his life had been he refused to shun people just because of what other people thought. No one had ever tried to get to know him. They had always just believed what Dudley and his aunt and uncle said about him.

Harry glanced up at the head table to see the headmaster glaring at him like he had betrayed him and most of the staff had similar expressions. Harry decided he didn't want all the teachers to hate him again and decided to look duly remorseful about ending up in the hated house and stopped talking to everyone except a quick explanation out of the corner of his mouth to Draco who passed it along. When he glanced back up at the staff they looked less angry and more sympathetic. He did notice that one of the professors with long black greasy hair gave him a half smile and seemed pleased.

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After the feast they were led down to their house common room by their prefects. As soon as they entered Harry began talking animatedly again with the others and explained the warnings he had gotten from the headmaster. They all understood his not wanting all the professors to hate him and applauded his "Slytherin" actions in preventing it. Silence overtook the room as the door slammed open and the same greasy haired teacher walked in. The older Slytherins took a seat on the floor in neat rows and the first years followed their lead hoping that they weren't expected to sit in a certain order.

"Welcome to Slytherin," the professor began. "There are some house rules I expect you to be aware of. This will be your only verbal warning though the rules are listed on the bulletin board over there," he pointed at the wall. "First of all, I'm sure you have all noticed that Slytherin house is not trusted nor liked by the rest of the school. As such you will all be on your best behavior and show proper manners at all times outside of the common room. Anyone who has not been schooled in manners please see me before breakfast in the morning for the beginning of your instruction." Everyone laughed at this wondering who on earth would not know basic manners. Harry forced a laugh along with everyone else but looked up with an almost scared look at his head of house. It was so quick he may have imagined it but he thought the man nodded and smiled at him. But again his face was stone almost immediately. " The second rule: If you have a problem with anyone in your house keep it in the house. There is to be no fueding outside of the common room and dormitory's. Anyone found to be so much as arguing with a house member outside of these areas will have a most severe punishment. With the rest of the school against us we must not allow them to see any dissension in our ranks. That is all. You are dismissed. Potter a word in my office please"

Harry wondered if his behavior towards his housemates at dinner had gotten him in trouble already and followed the man without a word. "Harry," he began much kinder this time, "I understand your behavior at dinner and I would like you to continue that way in public. I know I said that we all have to stick together, but for you it is different. I still want no hostilities mind you, but you are free to ignore your housemates. The headmaster will be watching you closely and I fear for your safety if he thinks you are getting too close to the Slytherins," he held up his hand to silence Harry's questions. "I cannot tell you any more about that at this time you understand. Perhaps later we will go into that. I merely wished to say that you may want to tell your housemates what you are doing so that they do not percieve you as being rude and unapproachable."

"Yes sir. I already told them. I whispered it to Draco at the table and he passed it around then I explained better when we got here."

The professor really smiled at that "That's good Harry. You really are a true Slytherin." Harry couldn't help but be proud at those words. "I admit I don't know much about the home that the headmaster placed you in but knowing him I can imagine that you didn't get much direction about manners much less wizarding custom so I want you to read these books. Read the one on manners tonight and see me before breakfast with any questions you have. The one on wizarding customs and society can be read at your convenience over the next month then you will be having a test on it given by me."

At this point Draco rushed in the door after being voted by his housemates as the one to do so. "Sir, Harry explained to us what happened at dinner and we are all okay with it. We don't want him to get in trouble for being friends with us by the other teachers." Draco said almost with one breath and stared at his shoes visibly frightened of his strict head of house.

"I'm aware of that Mr. Malfoy. I was in fact telling Mr. Potter the same thing."

"Oh okay then. I'll just be going now sir." he scrambled out of the room before he could get into trouble.

"Mr. Malfoy," Snape called stopping the boy in his tracks. "ten points to Slytherin for your concern for your housemate, but if you ever burst into my office like that again I will take away points.

"Yes sir." Draco said unsure whether to feel proud that he gained points or afraid of losing them. He again started for the door at a much more stately pace.

"You may go as well Mr. Potter. And don't forget your reading. Welcome to Slytherin"

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Tom Riddle was sitting in his study when he received the owl.

Tom,

Harry has been sorted into Slytherin and despite the fact that he looks just like his father I believe that I really do like the boy. He is a true Slytherin and may have ended up here anyway even if I didn't tell the hat to put him here. He is also not very attached to our favorite headmaster despite his excellent acting skills making the old man think so. He seems very happy to be in Slytherin and has made friends with Draco Mafoy already and everyone else seems to like him at least so he will most likely be making more friends soon. He hates being manipulated by anyone and has caught onto what dumbledore is trying to do. If all goes well you may be able to meet him at Christmas.

Yours,

Severus

Tom sent a quick reply with the delivering owl.

Severus,

I am very glad to hear that you have taken a liking to the boy. The old man's meddling may work in our favor after all. The fact that Harry has not grown up to fear me is a good thing, and while most abused children (I don't doubt that is what he is being that it was Dumbledore that chose his home) are easily manipulated, I'm glad to hear that Harry is fighting back. From your description I would have to agree that he is a true Slytherin. Keep an eye on him though. Don't let the other staff and students bully him too much over it. He seems like a good kid. About Christmas, don't push it too fast. We are in no hurry. It's not like I'm going to pit him against the dark lord this year. He will have to much older and more able before I would be willing to put him in such danger. If it takes a little longer for him to come to terms with the truth that's okay. I would never put a child at risk anyway. Teach him well and thank young Mr. Malfoy for me. Ask him to help look out for Harry as well. Discreetly of course. I shudder to think what would happen if Harry was known by everyone to be friends with the Slytherins.

Yours,

Tom.

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Lucius Malfoy was leaving the ministry as three owls decended upon him. He opened the one from his son first.

Dad,

I met Harry and he's really cool. He's a Slytherin luckily so we can be friends in private. He can't let Dumbledore see though so we have to be careful. Thanks for telling me to make friends with him. I would have anyway though.

Love,

Draco

The next one was from Severus.

Lucius,

You will be glad to know your son followed your suggestion and made friends with Mr. Potter. You will also be glad to know that they have both been sorted into Slytherin. I know that will make you proud. Even more so since Draco risked my temper and burst into my office when he thought that Mr. Potter was in trouble with me. I figured that would make you laugh. Don't worry. I awarded him points but with a warning not to interfere again. I hope all is well is with you.

Severus

The final one was from Tom.

Lucius,

Thank you for asking your son to befriend Harry. I just heard from Severus that he has done a wonderful job of that. I also wanted to ask you if you would be able to do some shopping for me as I am running low on some of the neccessities. See the enclosed list. Don't go too much out of your way, but if you can get them to me within the next few days that would be wonderful. Merlin I hate being stuck here all the time. Thanks old friend.

Tom.

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Dumbledore sat in his office after the feast and pondered the situation. 'How could this have happened. He was so sure that the hat was going to put Potter in Gryffindor or barring that anywhere but Slytherin. He seemed to not like his housemates, so that was good. Perhaps he would be able to salvage this. He would definitely have to keep a close eye on things though. He may have to take more drastic measures.' He put his head in his hands and groaned.

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AN: Sorry if the letters at the end were a little redundant. I wanted to show how close the three men are though. Also do you think I should tell everyone in the next chapter exactly who the dark lord really is (though i'm sure many of you have guessed already) or should I try to keep it secret for a little longer? Do you want Harry to meet Tom at Christmas or wait a while? I will be updating the next chapter once I have some responses to these questions to go off of.


	4. Chapter 3: Occlumency and Spies

Disclaimer: I do not own the Characters or places in this story unless otherwise stated. I am making no money of this story.

Chapter 3: Occlumency and Spies

After Harry went to his dorm room that night he began reading the book that Professor Snape gave him on manners. Luckily he had charmed it first to look like something else on the outside so that he was able to avoid the awkward questions from his friends. 'this sure is a lot to remember' he thought feeling completely overwhealmed. He decided to just be extra careful and if in doubt watch Draco. Draco seemed to have been brought up with great manners. He had just finished the book when the racket downstairs ended and the other boys came upstairs.

"Where'd you go Harry? We were having a little party downstairs." Draco asked him.

"Sorry mate. It's been a really long and confusing day. I just wanted to be alone with my thoughts for a while."

"What's bugging you?" Vinny Crabbe asked a bit put out that Harry had skipped out on them.

"Nothing really. I woke up this morning just like any other day then all of a sudden Dumbledore shows up on my doorstep telling me I'm a wizard and my parents were murdered by the same maniac who tried to murder me, and I found out about this whole new world I knew nothing about. Add to that the fact that everyone except you guys is trying to run my life and pick my friends and so on and it's just been a very stressful day." Harry replied with a sigh.

Draco sat on Harry's bed with him. "Yeah I guess that is a very long day" he laughed. "Well if you need any help catching up or anything just let me know. It will probably be pretty tough for a while since you haven't grown up with any of this stuff. I can't believe you never knew you were a wizard. That's crazy"

Harry laughed with the other boy. "Yeah my family is kinda magic phobic so it was always a taboo subject. You should have seen the look on my aunt's face when dumbledore showed up. It was hilarious!" He did a passable expression of the face and everyone started laughing. The boys stayed up just talking and having fun for another hour or two before they all fell asleep.

The next morning was a flurry of activity as they all tried to get dressed and showered and ready for breakfast on time. The dicipline required in Slytherin was a different sort than most of the first years were used to. They were all to be ready by seven am and then they lined up in two lines first years at the front followed by the second years then the third years and so on. They then followed Professor Snape into the great hall and kept their lines as they split to each side of the table. All of the students watched as Snape went to the head table and they were seated after he was. The first years from the other houses watched in awe. They had never seen such precision. Their houses never did anything like that. They just wandered in whenever they felt like it.

Across the hall Ron huffed and remarked to his friends "Stupid Slytherins. Think they are so much better than us but they are just a bunch of pure blood racists. I can't believe Potter got stuck over there. Doesn't seem to like it much does he?" He looked over at Harry who was looking down at his plate and not talking to anyone.

'This sucks' Harry thought bitterly. 'I can't talk to my friends all day. I better start looking around for people to make friends with. I hope Dumbledore will be happy if I just pick someone else in Gryffindor to be friends with. I really don't like Ron and it will be really hard to pretend to like him. Maybe his twin brothers wouldn't be too bad.'

Headmaster Dumbledore arrived at that moment and looked around the hall and upon seeing Harry apparently at odds with his housemates smiled a smug smile of satisfaction.

After breakfast was finished Snape came down from the head table along with the other heads of house to hand out class schedules starting with the first years since they were all the same as were the second years. After handing Harry his schedule he said in a low voice "you have most of your classes with Gryffindor so you should take the opportunity to make some Gryffindor friends so the headmaster doesn't get suspicious."

"Yes sir." Harry mumbled with his head still down looking at his schedule.

Monday: Double potions 9am – 11am

Transfiguration 11am-12pm

Lunch 12pm-2pm

Charms 2pm-3pm

Herbology 3pm-4pm

History of Magic 4pm-5pm

Dinner 5pm-7pm

The rest of the schedule looked much the same except each day there was a different class that was a double period. As Professor Snape said most of the classes were with Gryffindor. He would just have to hope that he found someone other than Weasley to sit with in class.

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He entered his double potions class a bucket of nerves but found out that he didn't have to worry about ending up next to Ron. Apparently the redhead thought that ending up in Slytherin was the worst treachery imaginable and could be heard remarking about it before class. "Well Mr. Weasley since you think Slytherin is so horrible that you would shun a friend for making it into my house you will be stuck working with a Slytherin for the rest of the year" Snape sneered as he opened the door. "In" He said in a very perturbed tone. When the class had found their seats he walked up to the front of the class and gave his usual first year speech.

"We are going to have a little experiment this year at the express wishes of the headmaster. Each Slytherin is going to be paired with a Gryffindor for the remainder of the year." He then went about announcing the pairings. He thought about putting Potter with Weasley since he was sure the headmaster would prefer that but decided that it wasn't worth putting Harry through that after everything else he had been through so decided to put Weasley with Malfoy and Potter with another Gryffindor first year named Dean Thomas. Thomas was a muggle born so wouldn't be so far ahead of Potter and he seemed like a good kid for a Gryffindor.

After the pairing were announced and the students finished changing seats to be with their partners Snape decided to have a little fun with Weasley. "Mr Weasley, what would you get if you added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

"I don't know sir."

"well well. And you a pureblood. Imagine your parents disappointment." He swept his robes around almost hitting Ron in the face with them. "For your information Mr. Weasely those two ingredients creating a sleeping draught so powerful it is known as the draught of the living death." he spun on the rest of the class. "why aren't you writing this down?" he sneered.

Harry thought this wasn't a very good beginning to his new school year. And he had just decided that he almost liked Snape. At the end of class, however, his hiccoughing solution was pronounced passable. He decided he did like Dean Thomas though and hoped the headmaster would be happy with his having just one Gryffindor friend since the only other Gryffindor boy was Seamus Finnegan who was just a menace. He had already blown up three cauldrons in the one class. Maybe he would try to get a Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff friend too since the headmaster seemed okay with those two houses.

After a difficult day of classes and a ton of homework he trudged back to his common room to find Professor Snape waiting for him. "May I have a word Potter?" and walked back into his office. Harry followed and after closing the door he began. "I would like your permission to begin teaching you the art of occlumency. It is used to shield your mind from anyone wanting to see your thoughts and memories without your permission. The headmaster is very accomplished at this and may look for information on how close you are to the Slytherins and other information you may not wish him to have. It should only take a week or so for you to become profficient and in the meantime we can tell the rest of the house that you are studying with me in order to catch up to the level that your peers are magically. Since most of Slytherin house is pureblood they have been raised with magic as a daily part of their lives."

"That would be great sir. Would you also help me to catch up with the magic part too?"

"I could if you wish. We really shouldn't study occlumency for more than 30 minutes at a time since it can cause headaches for longer periods so we can do 30 minutes of occlumency and then 30 minutes helping you to catch up." At Harry's nod he continued. "I would also like it if you would come to me with any problems be it with students, faculty, or even needing to talk about anything in your life like your relatives, home life, whatever. I may seem like a real git to the students..." Harry snickered at this, "but I really do care. Especially about my little snakes."

"Yes sir. Everything has been great so far except..." Harry trailed off.

"Go on"

"Well it's hard having to pretend all the time like the Slytherins are so mean to me and that I hate them and having to pretend to be friends with everyone else. It's like I can't be myself."

"I can certianly understand that Harry. I wish there was a better way. I'll think on it and see if I can come up with something else we can do."

"Thank you sir. When will we be starting our private lessons?"

"I was hoping to start tonight if you are up for it. The sooner we can keep the headmaster out of your head the better. I was also hoping I could look at some of your memories of your childhood while we work since the only way to teach you is to look at your memories anyway and I'm sure your childhood was less than happy since Dumbledore himself chose your home."

Harry was very apprehensive about this but decided it couldn't hurt so they began their lesson.

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Contrary to Snape's beliefs it only took Harry three days to master occlumency which was lucky for them since the headmaster called Harry to his office after classes on Thursday evening.

"Harry Harry Harry," he began shaking his head. "I feel I owe you an apology. I can't believe the hat placed you in Slytherin especially after all the trouble you have had with those from that house in the past. I can tell it is very difficult for you there, but unfortunately there is nothing we can do. Once the hat has chosen that is the final word. I am glad to see that you have made some friends despite this though. I have noticed you speaking with Dean Thomas frequently. He is a good boy."

"Yes sir." Harry said looking at his feet. "It is hard to be in Slytherin knowing that they all follow the dark lord and all, but they aren't mean to me or anything. They just ignore me and I ignore them. I'm glad that not everyone thinks that I'm horrible just because I'm a Slytherin like Ron does."

"Mr Weasley? He won't speak to you anymore? That is disturbing. I will have to have a talk with him about loyalty. You are dismissed Harry." As Harry got up to leave Dumbledore said as an afterthought, "By the way, you may feel free to come to me with any problems you have whether school related or otherwise."

"Yes sir," Harry said though what he thought was 'fat chance old man'.

After Harry left his office Dumbledore let out a long sigh. He had tried to read Harry but the boy was shielding. Either someone had taught him Occlumency which was very disturbing especially as it was so quick, or the boy was a natural occlumens which was almost unheard of. 'I don't think this is going very well' He thought to himself. 'I may have to try to eliminate him anyway. I can't risk him finding out that I really am Lord Voldemort.' At that thought it dawned on him that the only person other than himself capable of teaching the boy occlumency was Professor Snape. Hmm. He would have to keep a much closer eye on Severus. If he was really on Tom's side and just spying on him for the fool he would surely make him pay.


	5. Chapter 4: The Truth at Last

Disclaimer: I do not own anything you recognize.

Chapter 4: The Truth at last

Tom,

I'm worried about Harry. He has so much on his shoulders with putting forth a different face for different crowds. It's more than a child should have to deal with. He's strong, but anyone who spends so much time pretending can lose reality and become bitter. Believe me I should know, and it's a hundred times worse for a child, especially one who's been abused. I'm not sure what else we can do, but I promised him I'd try to come up with something and I was hoping you might have an idea. I would say I'm sorry for bothering you with this but it's not like you have anything better to do haha. You have much more time to think than I do. I just worry that we are going to push him to become evil just because he thinks that's the only way to live his own life. I hope you can think of something old friend.

Severus

Tom Riddle refolded the note with a sigh. Of course Severus has a point. 'Why didn't I think of that sooner. Maybe it was too much pressure to put him in Slytherin. But if I hadn't Dumbledore would have been much more able to brainwash him.' He groaned 'I just don't know anymore.'

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Back at Hogwarts Harry was getting more and more tempermental. He was finding it harder to keep up the charade for longer periods of time. His time after classes with Professor Snape was helping but it was getting more and more stressful. People quickly learned to avoid him as much as possible in the halls. It came to a head towards the end of November.

"Hey Slytherin" Ron Weasley called across the courtyard. Harry of course knew exactly who he was reffering too having been the butt of his jokes all year. He just kept walking. He really didn't want to deal with Ron right now. "I was talking to you snakehead!" Ron yelled as he threw a book at Harry's head. The force of the blow knocked Harry down.

Harry sat back up seething with anger. "Just leave me alone Weasley. I'm not in the mood for your games"

"What's wrong? Your evil master in a bad mood and taking it out on you?" At this Harry had finally had enough. He punched Ron directly in the nose and broke his nose. Ron ran at him and tackled him. By the time the professors arrived to break it up both boys had to spend the night in the infirmary.

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Harry woke up the next morning to Dumbledore sitting at his bedside. "I heard what happened yesterday Harry, and what's been happening all year. And while I sympathize with your plight you can't go around beating other students up over it. Maybe if you just tried a little harder to be friends with Mr. Weasley you could get over this issue."

Harry snorted and rolled over. He really didn't want to play the headmaster's games. He just wanted to be left alone.

Dumbledore sighed and left the infirmary thinking to himself 'This is not going well at all. He is resisting me at every turn. It's time to start looking into other options. We need to have a meeting tonight.' He sent his patronus out as soon as he got to his office calling his inner circle to the meeting.

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Harry returned to his dorm after Madam Pomfrey released him and found a small black book on his bed. He opened it to find a letter to him inside the cover.

Harry,

This is a journal. It's charmed to only be read by you and to prevent you from discussing this with anyone else. I hope you recognise this journal as the truth and if so when you get to the end just write the phrase 'I trust you' on the last page and I will come and talk to you about what you've read.

The note was unsigned. Harry was confused. Why would someone want him to read their journal? He thought for a bit. Maybe it was because there was some secret that needed to come out. "only one way to find out I suppose" Harry muttered to himself and started reading the first page:

_I'm so glad I was able to come to Hogwarts. After all those years in the orphanage I was beginning to be afraid that I was never gonna get away. I still have to go back in the summer, but that's ok. It's better than being there all the time. It's just so lonely there. I will miss my friends though but I'm making lots of new friends here. It's so cool here. I always knew I could do weird stuff, but I never realized it was magic. _

That was the end of the first entry. 'So,' Harry thought to himself, 'whoever's journal this is was a student at Hogwarts and lived in an orphanage.' He continued reading. He was on the student's fifth year by the time Professor Snape called for lights out. He groaned. He hadn't wanted to stop reading. This person was pretty cool. A prefect and popular and so kind to everyone. He still couldn't understand why they wanted the journal read though. With so many thoughts running through his mind Harry rolled over and went to sleep.

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Albus Dumbledore waited at the safehouse for the rest of his inner circle to arrive. The first to arrive was Severus Snape. "Is this to be a full meeting Albus or only the inner circle?"

"Only the inner circle. There are some decisions to be made about my campaign and since you are the only one's who know my true identity you are the only one's who can help me make this decision."

Severus groaned inwardly. He had a pretty good idea what this meeting was about and he was sure it wouldn't be good for one small first year boy.

Once everyone arrived Dumbledore began to speak. "The campaign to get Harry on our side is not working very well. He seems very hostile towards me and towards Gryffindor's in general. We need to figure out whether more drastic steps need to be taken."

"I don't know Albus. He seems to me to be fine with Gryffindor's as a whole. He just doesn't like Weasley. He and Dean Thomas seem to be very good friends and he has a few friends in Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. With regards to you maybe he is just intimidated by you since you are the headmaster and also a very famous wizard. I'm sure he's heard plenty of stories." Severus spoke up hoping against hope that Albus would take his word for it or that at least a few more of his colleagues would side with him.

"I have to agree with Severus. He doesn't really talk to the Slytherins at all and does seem rather reverent about you when other students are talking to him about you. He gets this goofy look on his face and stares off into space like he's daydreaming or something. I'm sure he's probably intimidated. I don't think we have too much to worry about." Professor Minerva Mcgonagal chimed in.

Cornelius Fudge, minister for magic, was very nervous about where this talk was going. "Headmaster. I know I have never actually met the boy, but I have to say that the death of a first year student at Hogwarts would not be kept quiet for long. I would suggest we watch for the rest of the school year and if there is still a problem at the end then we can see about hitting the boy during the summer while he is at his relatives. Or at least make it look like it was his own stupidity that got him killed, but even that should wait until the end of the year so we can do the investigation as quickly and quietly as possible once the students go home."

"Quite right Cornelius. You have a point there. It wouldn't do to have students being killed on Hogwarts property. Parents might pull their students out and then it would be much more difficult to recruit for either side." Dumbledore was still amazed by his genius. All the students who wanted to fight on the good side joined his Order of the Phoenix tracking Tom Riddle and all his friends who knew the truth and all the darker students joining his army of Death Eaters. Course there were a good amount that wanted to remain nuetral though he tried to keep that number as low as possible. "Very well, he pulled himself out of thought. We will wait until the end of the year and see what happens, but if we still have a problem all of you are expected to help me remedy it" He glared at everyone in the room daring them to disagree. Of course no one did. "Dismissed"

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As soon as Harry woke up the next morning he reached for the journal he had been reading. Since it was a Sunday he was able to spend all day reading it. Draco opened his curtain when he heard the pages rustling. "How's it going Harry? Whatcha reading?"

"Nothing much. I'm not feeling so good today. Tell the guys I'm gonna stay up here and rest will ya" Harry responded.

"Hmm," Draco replied as he felt Harry's forehead. "You don't seem to have a fever. Do you want me to get Madam Pomfrey?"

"Nah I'm ok Drake, She just said I might feel a little out of it after my concussion the other day when Ron and I were fighting."

"Ok, I'll tell everyone to leave you alone, but here. Take this. It's an enchanted mirror. If you need any help or anything just say my name and you can talk to me and I'll get Madam Pomfrey if you need her."

"Thanks Drake. I really appreciate it." Harry smiled as Draco left. He really did have the best of friends. He returned to reading the journal.

_I'm starting to get suspicious about Dumbledore. He seems to know too much about everything that's going on. They say he killed Grindlewald last week, but no one actually saw it. According to Dumbledore it was an epic battle, but truth is no one ever knew who Grindlewald really was. I just can't shake the feeling that there is something else going on here and it's making me nervous. Dumbledore doesn't seem to like me very much since I started to reject the friends he's always picked for me. It's getting frustrating. It's like he doesn't want me to make my own friends. You should see the look on his face every time he sees me talking to one of my housemates. I understand that everyone thinks Slytherins are evil and all that but I don't see why. They are really great people. Sure some of them make me kind of nervous, but not many. I'm sure there are just as many evil people in other houses as there are here. I guess the old man just needs someone to be a scapegoat._

Harry read the latest entry with great interest. He has so much in common with the 'mystery writer' as he had begun to call him in his head. They were both orphans, both were being manipulated by Dumbledore, both were in Slytherin and playing the same game. It seems that he didn't really give up until his fifth year. Harry wondered if he would be able to keep it going so long. If he kept reading maybe the mystery writer would have some tips for him. Surely this was why he had given Harry the journal. The farther Harry got into the journal the more interested he became. The last entry made him drop the book in shock.

_I figured out what's going on with Dumbledore. I know why he always knows so much. I know why no one saw him kill Grinlewald. It's because he was Grinlewald. Apparently people were getting too close to finding out who he really was so he had to 'kill' him. He is starting it back up again. I found out why he waited so long. He was waiting for a Slytherin with enough power to blame it on. Oh Merlin, he's going to pretend that it's me! That I'm the new dark lord! I heard him talking in his office. I was able to put an evesdropping charm in there with a undetectability charm on top of it. I'm so afraid. I'm supposed to be graduating in a few weeks. I was gonna go to work at the ministry. I had such a long full life ahead of me and no one will believe me. No one will take my word against the almighty Dumbledore. I wish I knew how to fix this. I've already taken my NEWTs, I don't have my scores yet, but they don't really matter anymore now that I'm going to be on the run. I have to leave tonight. Get as far away from here as possible. Of course I'm sure that Dumbledore will offer to hide me probably with some story about how the new Dark Lord is after me. After all it wouldn't do if I was found and locked away too quickly. Then he would have to make a whole new Dark Lord. Hopefully my friends will believe me at least. We are going to have to try and convince as many people as we can. We have to try to fight him. We can't let him ruin the world. _

'It's Dumbledore!' Harry screamed in his head. 'I can't believe it! He killed my parents! He tried to kill me! He's been trying to make me join him by manipulating me all year.' Harry broke down in tears wondering how he was going to stop him. What if Dumbledore saw through him. He would surely be killed. Harry needed some help. Then he remembered what the note in the journal said when he got it. He only had to write 'I trust you' on the last page and someone would come for him. He grabbed his quill and scrawled out the short phrase as fast as possible and succumbed to tears once more. He hoped whoever was supposed to find him did it soon. He really needed to know more than ever that he wasn't alone.

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Back in Snape's office a paper appeared in the center of his desk with an obviously hastily scrawled message. He could see wet spots on the paper and figured they were most likely tears, but then he had never known Harry to cry. "Shit" he said as he jumped from his desk and ran towards the Slytherin common room. 'Obviously the boy fell apart, not that I'd blame him of course, but I have to hurry. That poor boy needs someone right now. Someone that can understand what he's going through.'

Professor Snape burst into the common room like the hounds of hell were on his tail. He didn't even stop to look at the students in the common room. He knew that if Harry fell apart he wouldn't be near anyone else. He was most likely in his dormitory.

All of the students in the common room caught the look in their head of house's flashing onyx eyes and no one dared speak, move, or even breathe. Everyone was concerned for Harry though once they saw where Snape was headed.

Snape stopped at the door to the dorm room that Harry shared with the four other boys. 'Wait. Breathe.' he told himself. 'no need to go running in there like a bat out of hell and scare the poor boy even more.' He caught his breath then knocked lightly on the door. There was no answer so he opened it a crack. He heard Harry sobbing even though the curtains on his bed were closed. When Severus opened the door the rest of the way Harry stuck his head out of the curtains.

"It was you?" he asked between sobs. "You left me the journal?"

"Yes child," Severus said softly knowing that when students were upset they found his smooth silky baritone voice comforting. "I know how much trouble you have had keeping up the charade and thought you should know why it is so important. I also wanted you to know that you aren't alone. That others have gone through the same thing. That journal belonged to Tom Riddle. He is now the leader of the force fighting against Lord Voldemort who as you now know is Headmaster Dumbledore." Severus was sitting on Harry's bed rubbing his back to calm him as he spoke.

"But why me? Why did Dumbledore pick me to mess with?"

"You are so young to have such a burden on your shoulders child, but you have a right to know. Only with knowledge can we fight lies." Severus said while wishing that Harry had not asked this particular question just yet. "There was a prophecy when you were born that only you would have the power to defeat Lord Voldemort. That is why he killed your parents and why he tried to kill you. When he failed to kill you he almost got hit with his own curse. That frightened him. He decided to wait and try to get you to join him rather than fight against him."

"Is that why he made me go to my aunt and uncle, so I wouldn't know anything about this and he could fill my head with whatever he wanted?"

"Yes Harry. He thought that their treatment of you would make you weak and bitter, but you rose above that. You found your strength and no matter what your relatives did to you, you stayed true to yourself. And that is what Dumbledore fears most of all."

"But I'm not anything special. Why would I be able to defeat him when no one else can?"

"Never doubt yourself Harry. Most people in your situation as a child would be angry and lashing out at anyone and everything. They would be so hurt and scarred that they would believe anything to make it better. Your soul is too pure to allow any corruption and your magic kept you safe. When you came here I took the liberty to look at your soul...I hope you don't mind Harry, but I wanted to see how much damage he had been able to do."

"You can do that? You can look at someone's soul? What does it look like?" Harry was not angry. In fact he was immensely curious. His curiousity even overrode his fear and he was finally able to stop crying.

"Would you like to see?" Severus asked him both amused at his reaction and grateful that he didn't see it as an invasion of his privacy. At Harry's nod he cast a spell and Harry looked down at his hands to see a blinding white light escaping from them and formed in front of him into the shape of a unicorn. "The unicorn is the purest animal in the world. It is the premier symbol of goodness and honor. As you can see there is not a spot on your soul. It is as pure and white as a unicorn. You may not realize how rare this is Harry, but there has never in all of history been a soul so pure. This is what will enable you to defeat Dumbledore someday. But you will need to study and amass more knowledge and power first. It is my job, and Tom's and the rest of our group's if you want them to, to keep you safe."

"Can I meet Tom and everyone else?"

"If you would like, at Christmas holidays I can convince Dumbledore to let me take you for the holiday in order to 'talk to you and find out if you will join him', but then I will take you to meet Tom and you can spend your holidays with Draco and his family. They are friends of Tom also."

Harry, of course, agreed immediately. He suddenly couldn't wait for Christmas.

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AN: Who else should be on which side? This is what I've decided so far and I'm up for any suggestions.

Inner Circle: Snape (as a spy for Tom), McGonagal, Fudge, Umbridge, and Arthur Weasley. I don't think Molly should be because I can't bring myself to make her character evil and since only the inner circle know that Dumbledore is Voldemort they are the worst of the evil ones. I'm thinking I'll probably put Trelawny in the inner circle because I've always hated her anyway lol. I'm undecided on whether anyone else should be there.

I have also decided that Remus and Sirius will be spies for Tom in the Order of the Phoenix. I can't make them spies in the inner circle because they would never follow the man that killed Lily and James. I also will be putting Lucius as a spy for Tom in the Death Eaters. I am always up for some more suggestions however. Do you think this is enough?


	6. Chapter 5: Plans

Chapter 5: Plans

"Albus, I would like your permission to keep the boy over the holidays. I think that if I can get some alone time with him without the Slytherins around then I can surely get him to relax around you and even join you." Severus asked hopefully.

"The thing that concerns me the most Severus is the boy's mastery of Occlumency. Someone must have trained him. I've never seen a natural occlumens so strong."

'In other words I better come up with a story fast or he's going to know I trained the boy to keep things from him. Shit.' "I noticed that too Albus when I first met him and I believe I have a theory." Severus began praying the old bastard would fall for it. "I think that he is a natural occlumens and the extreme strength came as a result of hiding his feelings from his family and the hardening of his emotions over the course of the years. You know occlumency is as much a matter of hiding emotions as it is thoughts and memories."

"I suppose that could be a reason. Very well. You can keep him over the holidays, but I will visit daily say for dinner?"

"Agreed. Thank you headmaster."

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Back in the his office Severus collapsed in relief and sent a message for Harry to meet him there.

"Is something wrong Professor?"

"Not at all child. Just wanted to inform you that Headmaster Dumbledore gave me permission to keep you over the holidays so that you can meet Tom, however he will be joining us for dinner every day. I think that he is suspicious of me."

"If he's suspicious of you then wouldn't that carry over to me too sir? He knows we spend quite a bit of time together."

"As a matter of fact Harry, that's another reason I wanted you to come here. He is already suspicious of you and in fact has proposed eliminating you just a few days ago. We were able to hold him off and that is why I gave you the journal so that you would know the truth in case you ever had to be rescued from him. That's actually another reason I asked you here. I wanted to give you this," Severus held out a beautiful pendant, "It is charmed to become invisible when you wear it and is an emergency portkey directly to Tom's home. The password is sanctuary."

"Thank you sir. It's wonderful. Do I just have to say the password or do I have to do something else, and what does a portkey do exactly. All I have heard is that it is a way of travel."

Severus explained the use of a portkey to Harry and told him to use it anytime he felt that his cover was irreparably blown or if he was in a lifethreatening situation as neither was sure what kind of method the headmaster would use to dispatch him if he decided to nor if they would have any advance notice. After thanking him profusely, Harry surprised them both by hugging the stern potions master. After a moment Severus came out of his trance to wrap his arms around the still sobbing boy.

"No one's ever cared before," Harry managed to say between sobs. Then as if he suddenly realized what he was doing, he stepped back in fear. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to." He stammered cringing away. Severus realized he thought he was going to be in trouble for hugging him and his heart broke for this little boy all over again. He walked slowly and nonthreateningly to Harry, who by this point had his back against the wall. When he reached the shaking boy he merely pulled him into another hug. "Never be afraid to show affection here. While there are times and places where it is inappropriate, it is never something to be afraid of. Whenever we are alone you can always show me affection child."

"Is this what a hug always feels like?" Harry asked somewhat in awe of the situation he found himself in. At this question even the normally emotionless man couldn't help but cry with his young charge. 'The poor boy has never even had a hug' He thought to himself. 'Sure my father was a drunken bastard and I spent many a time beaten, but at least I had my mother to hug and love me. This pure innocent child has never had anyone.'

After the emotional demonstration was over Severus sent Harry back to his dormitory and returned to his room feeling exhausted. Just as he was about to turn into bed he received a letter from Tom.

Severus,

I can completely understand your concerns, especially with what you told me about Harry's soul. Give him a portkey to bring him here or somewhere else he is comfortable if he isn't ready to meet me yet. Perhaps Lucius since he is already close with young Draco. Try to keep him there as long as possible since if he leaves Dumbledore will hunt him to the ends of the earth, but if he needs to leave he is welcome and we will come up with something. If need be I or someone else can take him and flee the country and try to stay under the radar. It won't work forever and it will surely bring more heat down on me, but better that than to corrupt him or hurt him more than he has already been hurt. Take care and keep me informed.

Tom

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Tom couldn't sleep. Ever since he got Severus' last letter he could do nothing but think about ways to help the poor child. Finally, after sending a letter to Severus with the only solution he could think of he sat back in his chair and tried to relax. He knew he wouldn't sleep until Severus responded and he knew Harry was safe at least with a portkey if it got too much. Just as he was about to nod off from pure exhaustion an owl flew in the window with Severus' reply.

Tom,

I have already given him an emergency portkey directly to you and he was comfortable with you waiting at the other end. I also sent Lucius a monitor so that if it goes off he will know and come straight over to hopefully make Harry feel better with a semi-familiar face. I will let him know that he can use it if he begins to feel too overwhealmed with keeping up the charade as well as I told him only to use it if his cover is blown or if he is in a life-threatening situation. I think he is making a lot of progress. He actually hugged me when I gave him the portkey. Of course then he seemed terrified when he realized what he'd done but I talked him down. It turns out that he had never been hugged before. I couldn't believe it. I mean I knew he was abused, but _never_ having a hug. I couldn't imagine how horrible his life must have been.

I actually had an idea to run by you this evening. I know you have contacts in the MLE Auror Division. I was thinking I could put a recording device on Harry and let him confront Dumbledore like he has been wanting to since he found out the truth and your contact could give the reciever to the Head of the Department. I know the minister is on Dumbledore's side, but perhaps with evidence we can do something to hurt him and see what happens. He is so desperate for Harry to be on his side that he may take the time to explain some things that could be useful and then Harry can use his emergency portkey. It may be dangerous, but I think he is up to the job and it could be very cathartic for him. Let me know what you think.

Severus

Tom's reply was very short.

Sev,

If he agrees go for it.

Tom

At that point Tom succumbed to sleep.


	7. Chapter 6: The End of the Charade

Chapter 6: Confrontations

Tom,

Harry agrees to the plan. Put your part in place. We will have to schedule a time to have the Head of the MLE, Bones right?, to be listening. Lets say we send him on Friday after dinner around 7pm. That gives you four days to get ready on your end. If you need more time, let me know and we can stall. If I don't hear from you I'll go ahead as planned.

Severus

Tom looked at the note. Four days should be just enough. He sent an owl with the package to his contact in the department with the information. 'Lets just hope this works. Worst case scenario at least Harry is out of there.' As an afterthought he sent an owl to Lucius as well asking him to be there that day when Harry arrives.

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Harry ran into his common room after his talk with Professor Snape and grabbed Draco to drag him to the dormitory. After Draco put up a silencing charm at Harry's request he began talking, "Drake, I have to talk to you, but you have to swear to me that you won't tell anyone, at least till the weekend."

"Of course Harry. You know you can trust me. What's going on?"

"I won't be here after Friday. I'm not sure if I'll be coming back or not though. It depends on what happens."

"What do you mean you're leaving? How can you leave? Where will you go?"

"Calm down Drake. It's a plan Professor Snape came up with. I'm having trouble pretending to everyone and it's killing me so I get to go see Dumbledore Friday with a recording device so the Head of the MLE can hear everything and I'm going to confront him and tell him I know that he's Voldemort and get him to tell me as much information as I can. He doesn't want to fight me if he doesn't have to so he will try to convince me and hopefully tell me a lot..."

Draco interrupted him. "But he'll kill you Harry! He'll never let you take that to anyone! You should know that!"

"Don't worry. I have an emergency portkey to Tom for when the situation get's sticky. Professor Snape said your dad will probably be there so I don't get too nervous around Tom and I at least know you and have heard a lot about him."

"Just be careful Harry. I don't want you to get hurt. And remember to use that portkey at the first sign of trouble before it gets out of hand." Harry rolled his eyes as his best friend seemed to be channeling their head of house with the same speech.

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Harry, Draco, and Professor Snape's nerves were wearing thin as Friday got closer and closer. Thursday night Professor Snape gave Harry a dreamless sleep potion so that he could get a good night's sleep. He had to be at his best for this to work and his reflexes had to be sharp enough to get out of there.

Harry woke up Friday morning feeling refreshed, but more afraid than he thought possible. He knew he had to do this though. He didn't know what would happen after, but it was the only way out for now. He wasn't really apprehensive about meeting Tom like everyone thought he would be. He felt that he knew Tom very well from having read his journal and was sure he would like him. Feeling safe never really entered into the equation because he had never felt safe so he didn't even know what it felt like. He didn't think Tom would hurt him. He seemed very nice from the journal and that's all that mattered to Harry.

How he got through the day Harry would never know. After dinner Harry approached the gargoyle outside the headmaster's office and turned the recording device on. After he muttered, please let me out of this alive he strode up to the headmaster's office.

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Amelia Bones sat in her office with the receiver for Harry's recording device. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to be hearing, but one of her best men said it was extremely important. When the first thing she heard was a child's voice hoping to stay alive she sat up in shock. They couldn't possibly be letting a child go into a dangerous situation. At that point she called in all of the auror's on duty hoping that she could find out where this was taking place in time to get the child out alive if things got bad.

As the rest of the auror's gathered in her office she called for silence and they began to listen.

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Harry knocked on the door to the headmaster's office. "Hello Harry. Good to see you. Come in. What can I do for you my boy?"

"I just want to know why sir."

"Why what Harry?"

"Why did you kill my parents? Why did you try to kill me? Why are you Voldemort? Why were you Grindelwald? Why all the games? What do you want from me?" Harry asked all in one breath. He was so afraid he was crying now as Dumbledore was getting more and more angry.

"How did you find out about that boy?! Who told you?!"

"Please sir. I just need to know why."

"Fine. Not as if you can do anything about it anyway. No one would believe you. There is a prophecy saying that you are a threat to me, not that I believe those things mind you, but better safe than sorry. That's why I killed your parents and tried to kill you. As for why I am Voldemort and was Grindelwald that should be obvious even to you. Muggles are a disease. They are cruel inferior beasts. Just look at what your so called family did to you. Now I have a proposition for you. Join me and you need never worry about me again."

"Are you going to kill me if I don't?"

"Not right now, but eventually yes. It's not like you can do me any harm at the moment."

"Aren't you afraid I'll tell the ministry?" Harry said fishing for information at this point now that he knew he wasn't going to die immediately.

"The minster knows all about me and is on my side so there is nowhere for you to go there. I am Albus Dumbledore, the most influential wizard of all time!"

Harry gasped at this revelation. This plan was all for nothing. The minister could make it all go away. He may not know much about politics, but he knows about people in control and how they make everything work the way they want it to. Harry started to cry again and began to get angry at the injustice of it all. "You won't get away with this! I won't let you! I'll tell everyone I can everything I can. Someone will believe me and I will stop you."

Dumbledore was beginning to lose patience with this insufferable child. It looked like he wasn't going to get the child on his side now. Who knows someone might believe him. He could at least make things difficult for him and that couldn't be allowed to happen. "I changed my mind boy. It looks like you will be too much trouble to let live. I can't have you making things difficult. Avada Kedavra!" He cried.

As soon as Dumbledore said he would be too much trouble to let live Harry knew what was coming. He said "sacrifice" as soon as Dumbledore said the killing curse. The portkey activated just as the curse ended and thus missed him by about a milisecond as he disappeared.

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Amelia Bones and the aurors sat completely dumbfounded in the aftermath. All Amelia was capable of thinking at that moment was 'the boy died. We didn't make it.' After a moment they all heard the boys voice again saying "I made it! That was too close!" The entire office erupted in cheers thankful that the boy survived. Then they all began talking at once.

"Should we go arrest Dumbledore?"

"I can't believe Dumbledore is evil!"

"We let the dark lord be the headmaster of a school?"

"How can this be happening"

Amelia yelled out "SILENCE!" When everyone had gotten quiet she began to speak. "If we act immediately the minister will just find some way to get him off and get us fired. We have to do this subtly. The first thing we are going to do is make copies of this recording and get it into the hands of every member of the wizenagamot save Albus Dumbledore and Cornelius Fudge. We should be able to get the ¾ vote for no confidence as long as they don't have the entire body under control. I will give a copy to the members personally so that it doesn't seem like a setup and has an air of validity. Each of you will have a copy to take to the members of the press. We need to time the release in the press for the same day as the meeting so that no one gets wind of this beforehand. Everyone will also have personal copies to keep including me so that no matter what happens there will always be a copy available. Everyone clear?" At their agreement Amelia set to work.

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Harry landed in the middle of what looked like a large sitting room. He looked around and realized he wasn't dead. "I made it! That was too close!" At that point a man walked in and pointed a wand at him and incanted a spell aimed right for Harry's face. Harry saw it out of the corner of his eye and started to panic. The spell hit him and nothing happened so Harry turned around and began to yell. "Who are you? What did you just do to me?!"

"I'm sorry Harry. I had to destroy the recording device. If anyone saw me then they would think it was a setup of some kind if they don't already. Forgive me? I really didn't mean to scare you. I'm Tom." He said as he let his wand fall to the ground in plain sight of Harry.

Harry let out a deep breath. "I wish someone had told me you were going to do that. I thought I was about to die after all."

"Again you have my deepest apologies. May I take back my wand now?"

Harry still had his wand trained on Tom. He still wasn't positive this wasn't a trap. "I thought Draco's father would be here. When I see him I'll believe you."

Harry saw Lucius walk in behind Tom without a wand in his hand. "We thought you would feel more threatened if we both came in at once with spells being shot at you and since Tom is the only one who can destroy the recording device I let him come first. How are you? We were so worried when we heard Dumbledore say the killing curse. We thought he got you."

Harry put his wand away and nodded for Tom to get his wand. "I'm alright. Just a little freaked at how close that was." As he was speaking Tom retrieved his wand and began walking slowly to the skittish boy. When he reached him he dropped to his knees and pulled Harry into a hug and couldn't help but cry.

"We looked for you for so long. I knew what kind of place that bastard would put you in. We all tried so hard to find you and get you out of there, but we couldn't. I'm so sorry. I promise we won't let anything happen to you again." At that point all the air deflated out of Harry and the events of the last few hours caught up with him and he broke down in tears of relief and happiness. He could totally get used to this hugging thing. He looked over at Lucius and noticed that he too had tears in his eyes.

After a few moments Tom let go of Harry and apologized for being so forward. "This hugging thing is new for me but Professor Snape said to never be afraid to show affection and there was nothing to be sorry for." Harry said shyly. "I'm sure I'll get used to it and it is kinda nice."

Lucius stepped forward and asked Harry if he could hug him too. Harry shrugged and nodded and Lucius gave him a hug as well. Tom had recovered from his emotional outburst by this time and asked Harry if he was hungry.

"I'm not really hungry. I had dinner before I went to see Dumbledore, but I am kinda tired. It's been a very stressful day."

"Of course. Let me show you to your room."


	8. Chapter 7: Shakeup of Authority

Chapter 7: Shakeups of Authority

Back at Hogwarts:

"Avada Kedavra!" Dumbledore screamed as Harry disappeared. "Damnit. Where the hell did he get a portkey from!"

Dumbledore called Severus to his office. Severus spends plenty of time with the boy. He better not have given him that portkey.

Severus walked in and saw the almost ruined wall that was obviously hit by a killing curse. 'Thank god he got away, but it must have been close. Too close.' "You wanted to see me headmaster?"

"Did you give Harry Potter an emergency portkey?" Dumbledore asked getting angry.

Now every good spy knows that when the dark lord gets angry you lie and grovel so that's just what Severus Snape did. "Of course not my lord. I don't know how he would have gotten one. I have never seen him friendly with any of the Slytherin students, but maybe one of them cornered him somehow and gave him a portkey?"

"And why would they do that Severus?"

"I don't know my lord, maybe they told him the truth about who you are?"

"I want to see every student that might possibly know the truth brought to my office immediately on waking in the morning. Maybe a bit of torture or seeing their friends die might loosen their tongues."

"Of course my lord. I will have them here first thing in the morning." Snape swept out of the office cursing to himself all the way.

He made it to his quarters and sent Tom an emergency not telling him what was about to happen to the children and asking what to do.

He received the reply a few hours later. He was obviously not getting any sleep tonight. \

\

Severus,

I understand why you gave the story you did and I don't think at this point there would have been any way to save those children. I knew this was a risk when I got Harry out of there, but I didn't really think it would happen. Tell them all to take their emergency portkeys with them and as soon as the first curse is thrown portkey out. They can't leave until then or Dumbledore will know you warned them. We can easily say that their parents gave them emergency portkeys for that type of situation. Just make sure every single one has one. We can't risk trying to piggyback if they get separated somehow. I trust you still have your stash of extra's? Be careful all of you.

Tom

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Earlier the same evening:

Harry followed Tom through his home and was amazed at the size of it. "This is actually one of Lucius' homes, but he has so many he allowed me to use this one. I could never afford anything this grand on my own. Being on the run isn't very conducive to earning money." Tom laughed. Harry decided he liked Tom and would make sure that he wasn't a burden so he wouldn't get sent away.

Tom led him into a room that he thought Harry would like. Harry looked around in awe. There was a huge four poster bed in the center with a large closet, a beautiful desk and a wall full of bookshelves surrounding it. The color scheme was deep blues and stunning silvers with dark oak for the furnishings.

"This...this is mine?" Harry stammered. Tom nodded and motioned to the doors off the sides of the room. Harry opened the first door to see a wonderful bathroom with a pool sized bathtub, shower in the corner, and any other bathroom amenity one could imagine. He opened the second door and found a sitting room much smaller than the one he arrived in, but spacious nonetheless.

"The sitting room here connects to my sitting room and the two can be merged if you like. They actually used to be, but I thought you would like some privacy so I separated them. If in a few weeks once we get to know each other better you would like to share it with me we can do that." Tom put his hand on Harry's shoulder and gave a bit of a squeeze. "Now, have you had any dreamless sleep potion recently?" When Harry said that he had some the night before Tom sighed. "Unfortunately that means you can't have any more tonight. Do you think you can sleep without it?"

Harry nodded and hoped he didn't have any nightmares tonight or that no one could hear him if he did. He didn't want Tom to think he was a freak or weak or anything and he never did manage to learn that silencing spell from Draco. Unfortunately for Harry, Tom was an abused child as well so could imagine what was going through Harry's head and cast a monitoring charm around Harry's bed so that he would know if Harry had any problems. Harry fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow and Tom crept out of the room quietly.

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Amelia Bones finally had everything ready for the wizenagemot meeting that night. She had the recording and her people in place to prevent escape by Dumbledore or Fudge. She had the witnesses to the recording. If only she had the boy. She didn't know where he was or even how he got his information. That would make things go much smoother. Oh well. She shrugged on her robes. Dumbledore may be the head of the wizenagemot, but she was head of law enforcement. She could arrest him and Fudge both without anyone's approval. She only went through these channels since she knew that this body would be the ones to try him and they may just throw out the charges as ludicrus if the didn't see the evidence beforehand. 'Showtime' she thought to herself as she walked in the doors.

The meeting was called to order and she spoke first. "I have a piece of evidence here that implicates some very important men in our society in some very illegal business. I and a squadron of my aurors witnessed this recording as it was happening and can verify it's authenticity at both ends. I ask that this body view this evidence and authorize the arrest and questioning under Veritaserum for these individuals."

Dumbledore sat looking smug. He had let leak some information about Lucius Malfoy and just knew that he was this important person. He was glad his plan had finally come to fruition. He had been trying to get rid of Malfoy for years. "I think that is a wonderful idea Madam Bones and I thank you for bringing to this body first. It is very important to nip these sorts of situations in the bud. Let's call for a vote."

The vote was overwhealmingly in favor and at that point Amelia couldn't help a satisfied smile. She presented the recording. The silence in the room was deafening as everyone watched and listened to the evil scene taking place. Dumbledore could be seen trying to think of a way out of this and the look on his face was priceless. As soon as Dumbledore finished shouting "Avada Kedavra!" the entire court gasped. When they heard Harry after that they all let out a sigh of relief and then burst into noise.

"Quiet!" Dumbledore shouted. After the room heeded his order he began to speak. "Madam Bones, I must congratulate you on that well thought out attempt to overthrow my leadership of this party as well as minister Fudge's leadership of wizarding britan. You can't honestly believe anyone here will fall for it though? It could be anyone under polyjuice pretending to be me. I think your own loyalties should be questioned here not mine." There was a murmur of agreement throughout the room from many, but some seemed very skeptical. It is difficult to get the sight of a community leader attempting to murder a helpless child out of your mind after all.

"And how, dear Dumbledore were we to have infiltrated your office? You could clearly see the portraits of the previous headmaster's in the background and that cannot be faked or found anywhere else? I would be happy to admit under Veritaserum that there is no plot to overthrow you, however you must also remember the voting that just took place. Yourself and Minister Fudge must be questioned under it as well." The majority of the crowd just seemed skeptical at this point and unwilling to take sides. Dumbledore and Fudge however looked ready to spit nails.

"That would be imposible Madam. We both know entirely too much top secret information to allow ourselves to submit to that."

Someone else in the room spoke up at that point. Jefferson Zabini, who happened to be a friend of Tom and knew exactly what the veritaserum would do had a solution to that problem. "Might I suggest to the court; We could make up a very specific list of questions limited at this point to the same questions the child asked in the recording. That will be enough to prove our esteemed leader's innocence and get rid of this ridiculous claim once and for all."

There was complete agreement from the room with the obvious exception of Dumbledore and Fudge and the two people in the body that were aware of the truth and sided with them. "I must protest this completely insane procedure! There is obviously no truth to these claims!"

"Then you have nothing to worry about with the Veritaserum." someone called out. Dumbledore looked at Fudge with pain in his face. There was no way out of this. He would have to take the drug and pretend to go along quietly and then as soon as they were out of the room he could escape. That was the only way. He still had Minerva to carry on his plans at the school.

The Veritaserum was administered to the aged headmaster and the questions began.

"Were you the wizard known as Grindelwald?"

"Yes" A huge gasp sounded throughout the room. Obviously no one believed the claims until this point.

"Are you the wizard known as Voldemort?

"Yes"

"Who is Tom Riddle?"

"A very powerful student that I had."

"Why did you frame him as Lord Voldemort?"

"He had no family, plenty of power, and was a member of Slytherin house. He was perfect." The Slytherins in the room looked offended.

"Did you kill Lily and James Potter and attempt to kill their son?"

"Yes"

"Who knows of your true identity as Lord Voldemort?"

Minister Fudge, Severus Snape, Minerva Mcgonagal, Arthur Weasley, and Delores Umbridge

At this point the Veritaserum began to wear off and the crowd was buzzing with the information.

"That is enough for now. Any further questions can wait until trial. Aurors will be dispatched to pick up those named that are not present in this room. Minister Fudge if you would come to the floor"

At this point Fudge was in tears. His career was over. He had no doubt that Dumbledore could get him out of prison, but he had no more influence. It was over. His interrogation consisted of only three questions at this point.

"Did you know Dumbledore was Voldemort?"

"Yes"

"Did you support and follow him in his actions as such?"

"Yes"

"Who else knows of Dumbledore's true identity?"

He confirmed the same names as Dumbledore stated and was let go in tears. Luckily for the community, Madam Bones had a good idea what the men were planning and before leading them out put some special cuffs on them both. These cuffs could only be removed by the person putting them on, were impervious to magic, had anti-apparition, anti-portkey, and anti-animagus wards, and even dampened all magic coming from the person they were placed on. Upon explaining all of this to the men Dumbledore lost the smug look on his face and burst into tears as Fudge fainted. Both were then stunned for the trip to Azkaban.

Before the night was out Jefferson Zabini was voted the new head of the Wizenagamot and Amelia Bones was chosen as interim minister of magic until a formal vote could be taken. She then went to her new office to think. Among the questions running through her head were how to get Tom Riddle vindicated and where he has been all these years, where Harry Potter was and if he was safe, and how to round up the remaining death eaters. She would have to interrogate Albus Dumbledore personally again to get their names. The first priority was finding his inner circle and getting them under veritaserum. This was going to be a long night.

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Ten aurors showed up at Hogwarts within minutes of the naming of Severus Snape and Minerva Mcgonagal as conspirators and followers of Lord Voldemort. Snape came quietly knowing that he would be vindicated, but Mcgonagal screamed injustices and that she was framed as she was dragged out. Both were placed in holding cells for the night at the ministry.

At the same time a group of aurors arrived at the Weasley home and took Arthur. He was completely silent, but his wife was screaming that he could never do something like that and how could they even think that.

Delores Umbridge was taken in her office before she even knew what was going on. That was by far the easiest arrest in history as she had fallen asleep at her desk.

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Tom Riddle woke up hearing screams echoing through the manor. He cursed himself for making the monitoring charm so loud. Of course, at the time he wasn't sure if Harry had whimpering nightmares or screaming ones so he wouldn't know how loud to make it. He jumped out of bed and grabbed his dressing robe as he ran across the hall to Harry's room.

He sat at the side of the bed and placed his hand on Harry's shoulder and called for him to wake up. He sat straight up in bed and looked around in terror and confusion. Then he saw Tom. "I'm so sorry sir. I didn't mean to wake you. I'll be quiet. I promise."

"Hush child. Don't apologize. After all that you have been through I expected you to have nightmares. You shouldn't have to deal with them alone. Do you want to talk about it?"

Harry looked at Tom like he had grown another head. "I'm fine sir." He mumbled hoping that Tom wouldn't be angry at him for waking him. He said he wasn't, but it had to be a trick. No one wanted to be woken up dealing with a sniveling child. He had to go and screw up the only chance he had to have a home. Where would he go now? He was beginning to hyperventilate.

Tom scooted next to Harry and began to rub his back and instructing him to breathe. Once he had his breathing somewhat under control Tom began to speak again. "You know I grew up in an orphanage. The people there were horrible. They beat me and called me names. I never had clothes that fit, never got to play with any toys. I was always ridiculed because I was different, but you know what? All I ever wanted was someone to care. I used to have nightmares too, but no one was ever there for me. I swore that if I ever found a child that was hurt or afraid that I would help him. You see. I'm not upset about being woken up. I'm glad that I finally have a chance to keep that promise I made to myself and help you."

Harry looked at Tom in awe. Sure he knew some of his life from his journal, but this was so much more information. Could it be that he really cared? Maybe it wouldn't hurt to talk about it if it would make Tom feel better.

"I'm standing in Dumbledore's office and he is throwing the killing curse at me and I activate my portkey, but it doesn't bring me here. It takes me to my parent's home when I was a baby and I see the curse hit my mother. Then he throws the curse at me and I portkey away again and then I'm in my cupboard screaming and my uncle comes in and starts beating my and calling my a crybaby and talking about teaching me a lesson for waking him in the middle of the night, then you came in and woke me up."

All through his telling of his nightmare Tom sat next to him rubbing his back in small circles to calm him. "No one can get you here Harry. I have been hiding here for longer than you have been alive and no one has ever found me who I didn't want to find me. You're safe and you can stay here as long as you'd like. No matter what happens I will never send you away, understand? I know how it feels to want a home and wouldn't take it away from anyone."

Harry nodded and began to cry again, this time from relief and happiness that he finally had someone who cared. Sure Professor Snape cared, but that was different. He was a teacher and kept his distance for the most part. Tom understood and pulled Harry close to him and held him until he cried himself to sleep. Then he settled himself in the chair next to the bed and dozed off himself.

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Interim Minister Bones woke very early the next morning and went to the ministry for the interrogations. She wanted to clear the Hogwarts staff out first so she could actively begin recruiting for those positions. She started with Mcgonagal as the Deputy Headmistress. After being asked the same questions at Fudge she was taken to Azkaban to await trial. When she got to Severus Snape, however, she got a surprise.

"Were you aware of Dumbledore's true identity as Lord Voldemort"

"Yes"

"Did you support him and follow his actions as such?"

"No" she looked at him appraisingly.

"Did you agree with his actions?"

"Never"

"Why did you never turn him in?"

"No one would believe me and Tom needed me to keep an eye on him so that I could warn him if they were getting close to finding him and save anyone who needed saving from him" The wheels began working in her head.

"Did you save Harry Potter from the headmaster's office?"

"Yes"

"How?"

"Emergency portkey. The headmaster was planning to either turn him or kill him and he was unable to keep pretending to be on his side. The recording was orchestrated so that hopefully someone would know and if not my position would not be blown and the child was able to get away without Dumbledore asking too many questions." This was the perfect chance to help clear Tom Riddle's name she thought.

"Is Harry Potter with Tom Riddle?"

"Yes"

"Where?"

"The location is under Fidelus Charm."

"Who is the secret keeper?"

"Tom Riddle"

"Is Harry Potter safe with Mr. Riddle?"

"Completely"

The veritaserum began to wear off at that point so she left him for a few moments to finish interrogating the other two prisoners and after answering the questions the same way as Fudge and Mcgonagal were sent off to Azkaban. She then returned to the room with Snape. He looked up as she entered. "I assume I am free to go?"

"I would like if I could speak with you for a few moments before you leave. Without the drugs that is."

"Speak about what?"

"I am contacting the newspapers about Dumbledore and his plans and identity today and also attempting to clear Mr. Riddle's name. Since he has official warrants for his arrest I would have to pardon him, but I would feel more comfortable speaking with him before I do so."

"For what reason?" Snape raised an eyebrow.

"I understand that he is not nor has ever been Lord Voldemort, but I would prefer to question him under veritaserum to ensure that he has not committed any crimes at all. You see, once he is officially pardoned any crime he committed up to that moment is nonpunishable, so I would just like to make sure."

"I would need to speak with him and if he agrees I can give you a secure portkey to his location. He may have other concerns with this to protect himself from being arrested if this is a trap and if so I will let you know what his wishes are regarding his safety and we can go from there. Is there anything else?"

"Yes there is actually. Hogwarts no longer has a Headmaster or Deputy Headmistress. I would like to support you for the Headmaster position with the School Governors if you would like the position. I cannot be sure of anyone else on the staff as you are the only one who has come up clean under interrogation."

"I would be interested in the position if the governors agree. I appreciate your faith in me and if appointed will do my best not to let you down madame minister." With that he swept out of the room and once outside the ministry portkeyed to Tom's place.


	9. Chapter 8 Freedom At Last and Epilogue

Chapter 8: Freedom at last

Severus portkeyed into the main room at Tom's house. Tom arrived in the room a few moments later as the portkey alarms went off. At the uncharacteristic smile on Severus' face Tom gave him a questioning look. "Things have gone even better than we ever suspected. Dumbledore is in Azkaban along with his entire inner circle. We were all questioned under veritaserum and the new minister of magic asked all of the right questions. It came out that you were innocent and she would like to request permission to come here with a witness and question you before she gives an official pardon."

"And you're sure this isn't a trap Severus? This seems too good to be true."

"It's possible, but not likely. I told her that you may wish to make arrangements to ensure your safety and she said that would be acceptable and that either I can relay it or you can communicate with her by owl if you have one."

At this point Tom dared to smile and dared to hope. He went to his study and got out some parchment.

Madame Minister,

My friend Severus Snape just relayed to me your offer and I am definitely interested. I wish nothing more than to clear my name and be able to live my life. I'm afraid for security reasons I cannot allow you entrance into my home. As much as I hope it is not, so long on the run has made me paranoid about walking into traps. I am also willing to bet that you are not comfortable entering my home and risking a trap as well. I understand that your questioning of Mr. Snape has likely not assuaged all of your fears regarding me. I would like to propose an alternate arrangement. I will meet you at a time of my choosing and a place of your choosing. I understand that you will need a witness in order to put through the paperwork so I will bring a witness of my own. We can each also bring an emergency portkey for security. I would be free on tomorrow afternoon around 2 PM. Please get back to be if this time is unacceptable or to let me know the place you choose.

Sincerely,

Tom Riddle

After sending the owl he went to talk to Harry. He didn't want him to worry when Tom wasn't home for a while tomorrow.

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Amelia Bones was sitting in her new office as minister dealing with the storm caused by Dumbledore's confession and arrest. His trial was set for next week and was going to be a media nightmare. She heard a tapping at her window and saw an owl that was clearly not one of the ministry's. She opened the window and cast spells at the letter to be sure that it wasn't carrying a curse or poison. When it tested clean she opened it. After reading it she wasn't sure whether to be amused at his paranoia or disgusted that it was neccesary. She penned back a letter immediately.

Mr. Riddle,

I find your arrangement acceptable, and will meet you at 2PM tomorrow at the warehouse across from the Lucky Duck in muggle London. I feel that a non-wizarding area would be best for this meeting so that you are not spotted and attacked by any concerned citizens. I hope that we can get this mess cleared up and get you free.

Amelia Bones

Minister of Magic

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The next day arrived both too slow and too fast for Tom. He was nervous but excited. He was able to set his portkey to go off even if he was incapacitated or injured so that wouldn't be a problem. He arrived at the specified warehouse ten minutes early with Severus and waited. When Amelia Bones arrived they greeted each other pleasantly and she conjured some chairs for the foursome to sit in. Her scribe sat down to write out the conversation.

Amelia administered the veritaserum and began the questioning.

What is your name?

Tom Marvolo Riddle

How old are you?

41

Are you Lord Voldemort?

No

Have you commited any of the crimes attributed Lord Voldemort?

Yes, one

Which one?

The kidnapping of Harry Potter from Hogwarts

What were the circumstances of the kidnapping?

With Harry's permission Severus Snape gave him a portkey to my home in case he was in danger from the headmaster. He took the portkey to escape the killing curse and has been with me protected since.

Is that the only crime you have commited?

I have also done some minor shoplifting in my youth.

Anything else?

No

At that point the veritaserum wore off and Madame Bones handed him his copy of his official pardon from the ministry. "I will be filing that as soon as we return. With your permission I would like to release the transcript of the questioning to the daily prophet in order to help clear your name with the public. I can release it along with Dumbledore's questioning to help quell doubts. I doubt that everyone will believe it, but most will at least once they see you out and around peacefully. I would stay hidden for a few more days at least to let the papers spread the word."

Tom looked at her with tears in his eyes. "Thank you so much madame minister. You can't know how much this means to me. You're free to publish anything that will help and just let me know through Severus if I'm asked to make a public statement before I officially come out of hiding." He shook her hand excitedly.

She couldn't help but be happy with him. His joy was so big it was contagious. After a rather long and tear filled goodbye Tom headed back to his manor and the minister headed back to the ministry.

When Tom arrived back at the manor Harry was waiting anxiously for him. Tom ran to Harry and picked him up and swung him around crying "I'm free! I'm finally free!" His laughter was contagious and before long Tom, Harry and Severus were all collapsed on the floor laughing. "In a few days Harry I'm taking you shopping. The minister said before she left that she would see to it that I'm compensated for all the years I was in hiding. It won't be much per year since I never was able to get a job after school before all this happened, but twenty years worth adds up. We're gonna get you done up right. Then we will see your parents will and who they left you with when they died. Maybe you'll even be able to stay with me." Tom was babbling by this point and Harry got the giggles even more.

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EPILOGUE:

The next day the headlines read ALBUS DUMBELDORE IS LORD VOLDEMORT!! TOM RIDDLE FRAMED!!

TOM RIDDLE FORCED INTO HIDING FOR 20 YEARS BY LIES!!

It seemed that the entire paper was filled with stories of the scandal. Everything from Dumbledore's past was outlined along with his veritaserum confession. Tom's questioning by veritaserum followed. There were editorials raging about the injustices of what happened to Tom, articles about his childhood, his life at Hogwarts, his grades, and so on. The only thing they didn't know just yet was where he had been hiding and who was helping to protect him. Tom waited another two days to go out and gave a few statements to reporters along the lines of "I'm glad the truth is out now." and "No, I don't hold a grudge against the wizarding world. Only against Dumbledore and his people." and "Yes I've missed being able to be out in public" It took all day to shop with all the people and reporters fawning over him, but being in near seclusion for so long he loved every minute of it.

Harry decided to go back to school now that the major threats were gone and was welcomed back as a hero by his classmates. The rest of the school was still wary of the Slytherins but not everything can change overnight. Over the next few years though relations improved between the houses though the friendly rivalry was still there.

Tom was offered the post of Transfiguration professor to replace McGonagal since he had the highest transfiguration scores on his NEWTs in over a century. When Severus Snape retired as headmaster fifty years later Tom took over and kept the post for another 100 years until he died at the ripe old age of 192. He became the most popular headmaster Hogwarts ever had.

Harry recovered well from his abuse and was adopted by Tom the summer after he finished his first year. When he completed Hogwarts he went into politics determined to prevent the kind of injustice that plagued the world in his childhood.

Severus Snape retired fairly young from the headmaster post in order to open his own apothecary. He much preferred making potions to the administrative work as headmaster. He created many potions that changed the world, such as the mind recovery potion used for victims driven mad by the cruciatus, the cure for lycanthropy, and many others.

Albus Dumbledore only lived for 10 years in Azkaban before the dementors weakened him to the point he died. All of his followers died well before that.

A/N: Well that's the story. I know it was kinda short. This was my first fanfiction story and I'm still getting the hang of it. The next big story I do will hopefully be much longer, though I may throw a few one-shots out there in the meantime. Thanks for reading and don't forget to hit the review button and tell me what you thought.


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